Quote of the Day

From Radley Balko:

"The last two weeks are a mighty powerful argument for giving politicians as little control over our lives as we possibly can."

Hear, hear! It frequently amazes me that the same people who chant "keep the government out of my bedroom" when it comes to abortion or so-called 'alternative lifestyles' are often the same to invite that government into other intimate areas of life, such as healthcare. Any invitation to government to "support" any area of life necessarily involves ceeding a certain amount of power over that area as well.

History shows clearly that amount of power only tends to grow--recall that when Social Security was instituted, there were robust assurances that the assigned numbers would never be used for general identification purposes or record keeping. How'd that work out? This is the seductive allure of government. It promises great things today, but at a cost of ever-growing encroachment on individual freedom of action. And when it reaches the point the legislature is unwilling even to read the bills it expects ordinary citizens to comply with fully, the system is terminally out of balance.

I'd like to think we've reached "peak government" for this cycle, as more and more people seem to be waking up to the fact "government" in general has become more oppressive than supportive. But alas, if history is any guide, we are now at the most dangerous part of the pendulum. Those who amass power do not easily or willingly give it back up. We can only hope and pray that as the citizenry demands reform, it can be accomplished verbally, rather than violently.